US 12,083,048 B2
Method and apparatus for extracorporeal support of premature fetus
Alan Flake, Philadelphia, PA (US); and Marcus Davey, Philadelphia, PA (US)
Assigned to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (US)
Filed by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (US)
Filed on Feb. 10, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/172,239.
Application 17/172,239 is a continuation of application No. 16/848,085, filed on Apr. 14, 2020, granted, now 10,945,903.
Application 16/848,085 is a continuation of application No. 15/736,825, granted, now 10,751,238, previously published as PCT/US2016/038045, filed on Jun. 17, 2016.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/260,251, filed on Nov. 26, 2015.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/181,861, filed on Jun. 19, 2015.
Prior Publication US 2021/0161744 A1, Jun. 3, 2021
Int. Cl. A61G 11/00 (2006.01); A01N 1/02 (2006.01); A61G 10/02 (2006.01)
CPC A61G 11/00 (2013.01) [A01N 1/0247 (2013.01); A61G 10/02 (2013.01); A61G 11/006 (2013.01); A61G 11/008 (2013.01); A61G 11/009 (2013.01); A61G 2203/34 (2013.01); A61G 2210/30 (2013.01)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of using an extracorporeal system to support a human premature fetus in an extrauterine environment and maintain the human premature fetus during maturation, the extracorporeal system including a fetal chamber and a turbidity sensor and the method comprising the steps of:
positioning the human premature fetus in the fetal chamber designed to hold the premature fetus in a heated bath of synthetic amniotic liquid;
filling the fetal chamber with a quantity of synthetic amniotic liquid and heating the synthetic amniotic liquid to a temperature corresponding to a temperature of amniotic fluid in utero;
using the turbidity sensor to monitor the synthetic amniotic liquid within the fetal chamber for a presence of stool from the human premature fetus wherein the presence of stool in the synthetic amniotic liquid thereby creates a contaminated synthetic amniotic liquid within the fetal chamber;
sensing the presence of stool from the human premature fetus in the contaminated synthetic amniotic liquid within the fetal chamber by way of the turbidity sensor and in response thereto removing the contaminated synthetic amniotic liquid from the fetal chamber and introducing fresh synthetic amniotic liquid into the fetal chamber to maintain a liquid level within the fetal chamber.